Local Evidence and Diversity in Minipublics
“We study optimal minipublic design with endogenous evidence. A policymaker selects a
group of citizens—a minipublic—for advice on the desirability of a policy. Citizens can discover local evidence but might be deterred by uncertainty about the policymaker’s adoption standard. We show that such uncertainty can be detrimental to evidence discovery even with costless evidence, civic-minded citizens, and ex ante aligned players. Evidence discovery is hardest to sustain under moderate uncertainty. The optimal minipublic has low diversity: it overrepresents citizens around the median citizen and underrepresents those at the margins. Our findings bear implications for the French Citizens’ Convention on Climate.”
Date: 11 March 2022, 14:15 (Friday, 8th week, Hilary 2022)
Venue: Seminar Room C or Join Zoom https://zoom.us/j/91802954429
Speaker: Arjada Bardhi (Duke University)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Nuffield Economic Theory Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emma Heritage